[Monthly Review] January 2015
Little behind on the January review, but I've been sick since the first day of February, which has been super fun. I'm currently curled up on the couch with my dog because my coughing has kept Boyfriend awake for the past couple nights, and he's been feeling that lack of sleep at work. I'm exhausted too, but at least I'm just collapsed around the house all day while I'm sick. I've been coughing so hard my whole body hurts from it. Good times.
Writing
High: The story behind my roadtripping sisters novel is starting to come together, finally. In developmental editing news, one of the members of my writing group (the vague version, where I consider them a writing group because they're all involved with me, not necessarily with each other, unlike the Interrobangers, which is a separate writing group where we read and critique each other's work and do a lot of cheerleading), Tracy, has finished the first draft of her current adult supernatural project and is deep into her rewrite. It is awesome, and I hope you guys get to read this soon.
Low: Due to a variety of events, Sarah and I were unable to do our weekly writing sessions for pretty much all of January. I'm still doing my daily writing on my own, on solo projects, but it's just not the same without our regular writing time. We've gotten back to it, though, and have come up with a plan to fix THE TALKING DEAD.
Reading
High: I follow Hanging Garden Stories, which is a tumblr filled with weekly short fiction from eight YA authors (and if you don't follow it, you really should, there have been some delightful stories), and they did a giveaway of debut books that I won. It was such an exciting thing, and the list of books is fantastic. They haven't all arrived yet, but a bunch have, and I've been reading them as fast as I can (well, no, as fast as I have time, really).
So far I really loved CRIMSON BOUND by Rosamund Hodge (out May 2015), which is a Little Red Riding Hood retelling, and BEWARE THE WILD by Natalie Parker, which is delicious YA Southern gothic.
Low: I had a hard time connecting with LANDRY PARK by Bethany Hagen. I wanted to love it; it's post-apocalyptic politics set in Kansas City, basically, which is where I spent the last few years, but the pacing was off. There will be a second book (it's a duology, I believe), and I want to read it. I hope that taken together, the two books will work better than just the one on its own.
There are some racism issues that appear more unintentional than anything, considering some of the other choices. My goal is to review these books, so I'll talk more about that later.
Wrestling
High: The Usos continue to be amazing. Paul Heyman is the greatest talker. Hot people keep hitting each other.
Low: I said this in the last review (which was October): I still don't care about half the storylines, but I'm hoping they will start picking up as we head toward Wrestlemania.
They have not picked up.
Social
High: I've had a lot of great social events, but my current favorite was the birthday celebration last weekend. Brother(1) and I have birthdays a week apart, and we try to get together sometime in January to celebrate. This year, I spent a Saturday down in the city where Brother and Sister (and her husband) all live, and had amazing food (pasties from the British food truck for an early lunch and then Vietnamese for dinner) and then a college hockey game. I'd forgotten how much I love live hockey, and I absolutely want to do it again soon. (Except that was the last home game for that college team, but next season!)
Low: We had multiple family holiday celebrations across December and January, plus birthday stuff, plus I've been traveling for interviews, and now I am completely socialed out. I am very much an introvert, and I started feeling worn down by all the time spent around people back in, oh, the beginning of January. Pretty sure that has a lot to do with how sick I got the second everything slowed down. Not enough downtime + too many people + stress = SICK SICK SICK as soon as everything is over.
(1) I have three sisters, and two brothers, and I don't identify them in this blog without their permission. When I say "Sister" or "Brother," I am referencing one of my actual sisters or brothers, but not necessarily the same sister or brother each time. The same goes for my nieces and nephews.
This entry was originally posted at Dreamwidth.org with
comments. Read the original post there. Comment here or there using OpenID.
Writing
High: The story behind my roadtripping sisters novel is starting to come together, finally. In developmental editing news, one of the members of my writing group (the vague version, where I consider them a writing group because they're all involved with me, not necessarily with each other, unlike the Interrobangers, which is a separate writing group where we read and critique each other's work and do a lot of cheerleading), Tracy, has finished the first draft of her current adult supernatural project and is deep into her rewrite. It is awesome, and I hope you guys get to read this soon.
Low: Due to a variety of events, Sarah and I were unable to do our weekly writing sessions for pretty much all of January. I'm still doing my daily writing on my own, on solo projects, but it's just not the same without our regular writing time. We've gotten back to it, though, and have come up with a plan to fix THE TALKING DEAD.
Reading
High: I follow Hanging Garden Stories, which is a tumblr filled with weekly short fiction from eight YA authors (and if you don't follow it, you really should, there have been some delightful stories), and they did a giveaway of debut books that I won. It was such an exciting thing, and the list of books is fantastic. They haven't all arrived yet, but a bunch have, and I've been reading them as fast as I can (well, no, as fast as I have time, really).
So far I really loved CRIMSON BOUND by Rosamund Hodge (out May 2015), which is a Little Red Riding Hood retelling, and BEWARE THE WILD by Natalie Parker, which is delicious YA Southern gothic.
Low: I had a hard time connecting with LANDRY PARK by Bethany Hagen. I wanted to love it; it's post-apocalyptic politics set in Kansas City, basically, which is where I spent the last few years, but the pacing was off. There will be a second book (it's a duology, I believe), and I want to read it. I hope that taken together, the two books will work better than just the one on its own.
There are some racism issues that appear more unintentional than anything, considering some of the other choices. My goal is to review these books, so I'll talk more about that later.
Wrestling
High: The Usos continue to be amazing. Paul Heyman is the greatest talker. Hot people keep hitting each other.
Low: I said this in the last review (which was October): I still don't care about half the storylines, but I'm hoping they will start picking up as we head toward Wrestlemania.
They have not picked up.
Social
High: I've had a lot of great social events, but my current favorite was the birthday celebration last weekend. Brother(1) and I have birthdays a week apart, and we try to get together sometime in January to celebrate. This year, I spent a Saturday down in the city where Brother and Sister (and her husband) all live, and had amazing food (pasties from the British food truck for an early lunch and then Vietnamese for dinner) and then a college hockey game. I'd forgotten how much I love live hockey, and I absolutely want to do it again soon. (Except that was the last home game for that college team, but next season!)
Low: We had multiple family holiday celebrations across December and January, plus birthday stuff, plus I've been traveling for interviews, and now I am completely socialed out. I am very much an introvert, and I started feeling worn down by all the time spent around people back in, oh, the beginning of January. Pretty sure that has a lot to do with how sick I got the second everything slowed down. Not enough downtime + too many people + stress = SICK SICK SICK as soon as everything is over.
(1) I have three sisters, and two brothers, and I don't identify them in this blog without their permission. When I say "Sister" or "Brother," I am referencing one of my actual sisters or brothers, but not necessarily the same sister or brother each time. The same goes for my nieces and nephews.
This entry was originally posted at Dreamwidth.org with
comments. Read the original post there. Comment here or there using OpenID.